Kinah was waiting for everyone to be in before following the group when she noticed that not all of them were there. She could have sworn Sil was following her when they left the tower...when had they gotten separated? Fuck. There was no way she was losing the doe now. Not after tracking her so long and so far all the way back to the hell that was the start of the Epidemic for her.

Heading inside really quick she went to find Aaden and saw him near a couple of racks picking up Smoke Balls. "...bad is your leg? I noticed you favoring one of them." Shit, she didn't like walking up at that point of a conversation but this was important. "Hey, sorry to butt in but the doe and mutt are missing. I swore they were behind me but I can't see them anymore. I'm gonna double back. If I'm not back soon do not wait for me, my priority is the doe so I may not make it back in time for you guys to move. Stay safe alright?"

Kinah didn't wait for an answer before she took off back out of the store and into the putrid stench of rot and death in search of her only reason for living.

((I am so sorry to have a leaving post like this but while this team was on hold I realized I am totally bogged down by plot teams. I had fun while I was here and hopefully I can get Kinah to come back when real life has settled down enough for me to have so many teams active. Bye guys!))

"Hey, sorry to butt in but the doe and mutt are missing. I swore they were behind me but I can't see them anymore. I'm gonna double back. If I'm not back soon do not wait for me, my priority is the doe so I may not make it back in time for you guys to move. Stay safe alright?""Will--" Aaden barely has time to say before Kinah is taking off out the door of the store. "--do." Come to think of it, he didn't remember either of them entering the store with the rest if them, he had just assumed they were close behind. "Wait here kid." He says to Astrid, jogging back to the entrance only to find the lifeless city and no sign of any of their companions. How far back had they lost them? Shoot and this wasn't the time to be losing people.

[color=#FF0000]"Don't worry about her, she's a tough one. And kid--" His breath catches in his through mid-sentence. Where did he go? "Astrid?" He calls, back-tracking to where they had been talking moments ago. "Where did you go?" He calls, raising his voice to be heard further down the aisles. No trace of the little guy. "Sparkster, did you see which way he went? He was limping, he couldn't have gone far. The fighter walks briskly down the rest of the current aisle. Side-to-side in case Astrid had gone scared and hid among the fallen items and shelves. By the time he is just about to reach the end something, a squeaky cabinet by the sound of it can be heard opening them closing again.

Nearby, but muffled and as he cocks his head to listen and triangulate the sound his eyes are drawn to a boarded up door. Human letters are scrawled across it and a small metal grate at the bottom looks to have been busted out. Had it been this way when they walked in? "You in here?" Kneeling down, he examines the opening--one definitely too small for him to get inside, but large enough for him to peek in. Another destroyed room, though this one seemed to fair better than the rest of the place. Filthy appliances litter the room along with tables, chairs, and misc. The whole thing was reminiscent of the kitchens his trainer used to cook his meals in when they weren't traveling. "I think he's in here." Aaden says as a cupboard door begins to creak.

"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always gotten there first, and is waiting for it."[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The Jolteon looked around trying to find out where Astrid went off to. Kinah suddenly had started talking and with some worry in her voice. "Hey, sorry to butt in but the doe and mutt are missing. I swore they were behind me but I can't see them anymore. I'm gonna double back. If I'm not back soon do not wait for me, my priority is the doe so I may not make it back in time for you guys to move. Stay safe alright?" After that she had left back towards the tower. Sparkster hoped she would be okay on her own. "Sparkster, did you see which way he went?" Oddly he was wondering the same thing. "I haven't seen where....he went, could he have.....limped away somewhere close?" While being held by Aaden they both looked for Astrid down each aisle A sudden noise got their attention and they started heading towards it. The smell of a horrible odor had hit Sparkster and he made a very sour face. It smelt like dung that hasn't been flushed in over a month. "Eww, that's nasty." Aaden called out to Astrid seeing if he was inside. "You in here?" There was no response. Something began to creek as if it was opening. The both of them looks at the cupboard door seeing it open slowly. "I think he's in here." As it creeks open a little more something was rustling inside. At first it might be an undead until it jumped out onto the floor. It was a rattata and a living one at that. "A rattata? Hey wait, don't go out.....there alone." It was to late as it scurried off in a hurry.

With a thought Sparkster had only speculated that something might have teleported Astrid away. "Aaden, do you think Astrid got....teleported away?" It was only a guess, but it could be a hunch more than anything. Something was barely poking out of the cupboard and when he took a little better peek at it it was a full restore. "Aaden, I found a potion inside...that cupboard where the...rattata was in. Think that will get my...strength back?" Hopefully there was enough in there for the both of them. Astrid was nowhere to be seen and the way it sounds like they won't be able to find him anywhere nearby.

"We ain't here to hurt you--" He calls after the small ratata as they flee. Aaden lets out a heavy sigh. So it wasn't the kid. "Aaden, do you think Astrid got....teleported away?" Sparkster asks. "I'm not sure, but it's like he just vanished. So maybe." He wasn't familiar with Astrid's species, but good chance he didn't naturally teleport away meaning something would have had to get to him.."Aaden, I found a potion inside...that cupboard where the...rattata was in. Think that will get my...strength back?" A potion! "You see one?" The fighter asks as he sticks his head further into the room, eagerly looking for that familiar bottle -- and there it is!

"Sparkster, we're in luck! That's one of the good ones there. Looks unused too. Good eye." Now they just need to get to it. He gently lowers Sparkster to the ground a little ways from the barricaded door. "I just need to get this hole a little bit bigger." He explains as he begins to focus his energy. One deep breath then two, his fist lightly touching the space above the hole then retracting as he concentrates. His energy builds until he feels it will go no higher and he releases. His punch bursting through and widening the gap. "I'll be right back" Carefully he crawls through, ignoring the throbbing in his hand and the splinters. He had to get that potion.

He steps lightly once inside, but nothing lunges out nor does the ratata return. Once the full restore is in his talons, his confidence, for the moment, soars and he races back to the other side of the door. "Stay still, this may sting and take a minute, but it should get you back on your feet." He warns before moving to help Sparkster work the spray bottle. "This place seems secure for now...I need to make sure Astrid isn't still around, if there's any chance he's still in the area I need to look for the kid." He says, his guilt returning and dripping into his words. How could he mess up taking care of the kid so hard? And after they had survived...No, now was not the time for a pity party.

"I'll be right back." He finally says aloud and he determinedly rises to his feet and races back through the hole he created. The ratata was able to escape somewhere through here, maybe the kid had too. Following through another hole in the wall he find himself in a maze made of the fallen city. Following his instincts he takes off in a random direction to search, losing sight of the pokemart.

((ooc: Leaving post, I took a few liberties with Aaden operating the full restore. Let me know if anything needs to be changed.))

"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always gotten there first, and is waiting for it."[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

"Sparkster, we're in luck! That's one of the good ones there. Looks unused too. Good eye." Aaden lowered him and proceeds to break down the barricaded door. Sparkster laid there watching Aaden go inside the once barricaded room. The Jolteon thought to himself about the outcome of last night. Why did Balthazar have to die and why did everyone decided to vanish? It wasn't just dumb luck, it had to be something mysterious. "Stay still, this may sting and take a minute, but it should get you back on your feet." That's funny because he can't really move much other than slow weak movements. The potion does its thing and suddenly the electric type is back to full strength. "I'm feeling a lot better now, thanks Aaden." The pain wasn't there anymore and he sprung back onto his feet. There wasn't any potion left, but he would repay Aaden when the time came. "This place seems secure for now...I need to make sure Astrid isn't still around, if there's any chance he's still in the area I need to look for the kid." And just like that Aaden had ran out of the pokemart in search of Astrid.

The Jolteon stayed around waiting for Aaden to return, but there wasn't any sign of him anywhere. A sudden rustling sound came from where they entered from and as he slowly approached it he called out to Aaden "Aaden, is that you or is that Astrid that's over there." There wasn't any response. Something had told Sparkster to stay away from the original entrance. Soon he found out why. The undead had started moving in towards him. "Arceus damn it, I don't have time for you guys." There was two smoke balls on the ground and Sparkster took one of them and used his thunderbolt attack on the other causing it to disperse smoke to cover his escape from the undead through newly made hole. Out onto the streets he seen the destruction of the city first hand. Without hesitation he ran through the city and eventually found a way out through a small enough hole through the buildings. "Until we meet again Aaden, stay alive. I owe you more than a simple thanks. Next time I'll be the one to save you." After that he ran straight into the forest to find his next destination. The life of a Nomad is never ending and where he'll end up next is on the whim of fate.